Buckwheat honey: what is made of, benefits and harms, uses.

What product helps with colds, is used in folk medicine and cosmetology, and most importantly, 99% of families have it at home? The answer is unequivocal - honey. It comes in different varieties, each of which has unique healing properties. It is also used in cooking and cosmetology, both professional and household. Doctors and beauticians do not neglect this product, because it is a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals, which are concentrated in it in large quantities.

How to make buckwheat honey

Buckwheat is a plant with dark yellow pollen, which gives the honey its dark color. During flowering (June-July), beekeepers bring their hives closer to the fields of the flowering crop so that the bees do not scatter, but only collect buckwheat nectar. Because of this, the variety is called monoflower. The plant is considered one of the most honey-bearing, so every year this culture is planted more and more fields. Because of this, there is no shortage of honey. After the bees harvested, they need time to go out, which takes 7-10 days. During this time, all the trace elements in it become particularly useful, and the excess water from the product itself goes out. Then the bees seal it in the honeycomb, and beekeepers start pumping out the finished honey.

Nectar from buckwheat differs from other types in that it absorbs the properties of the crop itself. And it has for centuries been the most useful of cereals. It is recommended for heart problems, rehabilitation after heart attacks and strokes, anemia and anemia. Dried buckwheat flowers are used to make pillows to treat headaches - a 20-minute therapy is enough to make them go away. Buckwheat honey is recommended for people who have had a cavity surgery, because the antiseptics and enzymes promote accelerated healing and tissue adhesion.

Taste and color of buckwheat honey

Buckwheat honey is endowed with a unique color, with variations ranging from light yellow to a rich chocolate color. When poured into a dish, you can see that the color of the nectar is amber with a copper hint. The hue of recently downloaded honey can even go as far as black. And as it is stored and depending on the temperature, the tone lightens. The hue also depends on the settling of honey during crystallization, which makes it lighter in color.

The taste of this variety cannot be confused with any other, and when it comes into contact with the mucosa, it can cause a slight burning sensation. It is a bit tart and bitter, which is why it is considered a masculine variety.

Is Buckwheat Honey Sugared?

Buckwheat honey saccharges, but more rapidly than other honeys. It takes about a week for the first signs of crystallization to appear, and the full process is completed two to three months after harvesting. This is due to the interaction of a high concentration of glucose and pollen grains contained in it.

The rapid crystallization of buckwheat honey is an indicator of the naturalness of the product. It indicates that no starch or other chemicals have been added to the raw material. Therefore, if after buying honey quickly sugared, you should not be surprised, but rejoice in the successful purchase of a real product, which, unfortunately, is a rarity.

How to Determine the Naturality of Buckwheat Honey

In order to distinguish between real honey and fake, when buying, you need to look at its consistency and be sure to taste it. Characteristics:

1. Hue - uniform dark color throughout the occupied area, no light layers.
2. Consistency - if you tilt the jar, the honey should be thick and remain on the walls.
3. Taste - with a fairly perceptible bitterness and tartness.
4. Smell - distinctly bitter.

There are a number of experiments on how to detect the presence of additives:

1. Dilute a small amount of honey in warm water, drop iodine. If the water begins to turn blue, then the honey has been diluted with starch.
2. Light it. When set on fire, natural honey will not burn and will never change its original state.
3. Smear it on a piece of bread. If the bread or loaf gets soggy when smeared, the honey has been diluted with sugar syrup.
4. Heat the tip of a knife and dip it into the honey. The brown mark on it after this procedure is the sugar that was fed to the bees.
5. Sprinkle starch on the honey. Real honey will not give any reaction, and the starch will still lie white on the surface.

Which honey is better: flower honey or buckwheat honey?

When buying honey, everyone asks themselves this question. After all, everyone knows about the benefits of this product of beekeeping, and this is an undeniable fact. But which of the varieties is useful for certain organs and used for disease prevention and overall immunity - not everyone thinks. In general, everyone is used to choosing nectar by taste rather than by its medicinal properties. But even a superficial comparison of floral and buckwheat honey can show how important this choice is.

Floral honey is effective for overwork, frequent headaches, nervous breakdowns, and insomnia. Of all the varieties with its intense sweetness, it is the most delicious. It is divided into subspecies depending on the location of flowers and apiaries for its collection, which also determines the hue, flavor and aroma. This variety is unique in the presence of vitamin K contained only in it, so the product improves blood clotting. Often doctors for certain illnesses point to floral varieties.

In terms of the number of enzymes, amino acids and vitamins, it is significantly inferior to buckwheat. Flowers are in the top three for their allergen content, so this negative quality is passed on to honey. Flower honey more often than buckwheat honey causes allergic reactions. Therefore, women who are breastfeeding should use it with special caution, because the bee product can easily provoke allergies in the baby. And also it should not be used by children under 2 years old.

Speaking about the taste qualities, we should say that buckwheat honey is inferior to other varieties because of its signature bitterness and tartness.

Of course, when choosing a particular variety of honey, it is worth listening to the taste sensations. But this product is so healing that even people who are skeptical about folk medicine begin to believe in the miraculousness of this gift of nature.

Composition and calories

The nutritional value of the product is 310 kcal per 100 grams. The figure is high because of the large amount of sucrose and fructose. But taking into account the fact that honey helps to eliminate toxins and break down fats, in this case, the caloric value is a very conditional value.

You need to know this! All the useful properties of honey are retained only in a warm state. After heating over 40-50 degrees, the minerals dissolve, and it becomes a useless, high-carbohydrate sugar.

Buckwheat honey is also high in protein. It is suitable for those who suffer from problems of the muscular system.

The composition of honey is a bouquet of useful minerals such as: iron, boron, zinc, calcium, potassium, fluoride, glucose, copper, and B vitamins, biotin, niacin, carotene.

The whole set of beneficial properties makes buckwheat honey first-rate among all other types.

Fact! The first extraction of honey dates back to the Stone Age. 15,000 years ago, people began to use the sweet delicacy. Ten millennia later, the first hives were built that look almost like modern hives.

Useful properties of buckwheat honey

General benefits

Due to the presence of simple sugars and vitamins, the usefulness of this variety is not disputed. It helps to restore the overall work of the body and activates the metabolic process, strengthens the immune system. Doctors recommend it for a number of pathologies such as bronchitis, acute respiratory infections, intestinal flora imbalance, urolithiasis and gallbladder problems. Buckwheat nectar normalizes acidity, is indicated in the treatment and prevention of ulcers and chronic stomach diseases. Its beneficial effects on the skin, hair, mood and sleep have been confirmed for centuries. Thanks to its high nutritional value, it saturates the brain with glucose, which perfectly helps people whose work involves constant mental activity.

For honey to give the body more enzymes and amino acids, it must be held in the mouth for a while and only then swallowed. This activates and absorbs into the mucous membrane of the mouth all the useful substances, and from there already pass into the blood and spread throughout the body.

By adding honey to your daily diet, you can get rid of skin problems. Acne and rashes will disappear. The skin will become moisturized, smooth and glowing. Hair loss will stop, it will become more manageable and will stop splitting.

One tablespoon a day on an empty stomach can solve two problems. This habit is good for the memory. Calcium, which is in high concentration in buckwheat honey, affects the functioning of the brain. You can also heal the stomach in this way - antibacterial substances promote rapid healing of the mucous membrane.

Since honey is a unique product, adapting to the biological rhythm of the person, when excited, it has a calming effect, and after awakening - gives a charge of vivacity and energy, starting the work of the brain. At the end of the day honey promotes relaxation and restful sleep, easily combats insomnia.

This is interesting! Japanese scientists have proven the fact that buckwheat honey breaks down radionuclides. Thus, in the 70s of the twentieth century, doctors prescribed treatment to victims of radiation in the form of a daily five-times intake of monoflower nectar.

But it is worth highlighting its benefits for women and men separately. Therefore, we will also consider the therapeutic properties point by point.

For women

1. Some doctors, along with medications, advise to use honey and make lotions of it for gynecological diseases. This is due to the fact that honey fights fungi, which are most often the causative agents of genital infections.
2. The product establishes the work of the endocrine system.
3. This gift of nature regulates and restores the hormonal background, which is great during PMS, pregnancy and after it.
4. After ectopic pregnancy, honey helps to regenerate the mucous membranes, rapid healing, and restores the female function of the body.

For men

1. Daily use of honey helps to improve potency.
2. This product of beekeeping contributes to the treatment of infertility, which is associated with sperm motility.
3. The sweetness adjusts the work of the prostate gland.
4. After giving up smoking, honey helps to break down the remaining nicotine.

Pregnancy

During pregnancy, there are a number of problems associated with taking medications. There are a number of contraindications for most of them, but a cold during this period, unfortunately, is sometimes unavoidable. That is why doctors often recommend avoiding medical treatment and drinking warm milk with buckwheat honey to combat the ailment. The percentage of people with allergic reactions to this variety is small - only 0.1% of the population.

The introduction of small doses of honey in the diet of a pregnant woman has a positive effect on both the health of the mother and the child.

Interesting! There is a theory that the famous healer Hippocrates lived to a ripe old age and died at 110 only because he ate honey every day. At the same time he was the first doctor who proved the ability of honey to fight acute respiratory diseases.

Benefits of buckwheat honey for weight loss

Despite the fact that the nectar consists of 95% glucose, sucrose and fructose, it is quite carbohydrate-containing - 70% of the total composition in 100 grams (10% of the daily rate). This sweet helps to easily lose extra pounds and cleanse the body of harmful toxins by cleansing the intestinal tract.

Unlike other varieties of honey, it is buckwheat honey should be included in the diet for weight loss. The tart taste with a bitterness does not allow you to overeat carbohydrates, thereby regulating the amount of sugar in the blood, so it is not deposited excessive accumulation of fat on the body. And buckwheat nectar also contains protein, which enhances the fat-burning components of fruits and spices used in diets.

Nowadays it is very popular to eat healthy food, organic products, it is fashionable to lead a healthy lifestyle, but not everyone adheres to it. It's hard to resist the temptation of eating a chocolate bar, a burger or a sweet sparkling water. So, the nectar helps to flush out all the harm from eating without accumulating extra pounds. Honey is also great for snacking. You can add it to kefir, pour it over sliced apples, eat it with tea.

There are 3 best formulas for weight loss drinks that taste great and will help in the fight against excess weight:

1. Honey and cinnamon - the second ingredient inhibits the development of fat cells and also enhances the detoxifying properties of honey. A teaspoon of cinnamon should be added to warm nectar water. It is better to drink at night, as it is at this time of the day the intestines work at their full potential. The habit of drinking it every day for 2 weeks can start the metabolic process, strengthen the intestinal walls and muscles. It will also get rid of constipation.
2. Honey and cloves - the spice speeds up the metabolism and also has a number of healing properties, fights constipation. In the morning on an empty stomach, this water will be a great start to the day - it will reduce the appetite and start the body.
3. Buckwheat honey, lemon and ginger - about this combination you can read lectures. They are useful separately, but together they are a vitamin bouquet that will strengthen the immune system, improve mood, energize and invigorate. If you drink it during the day, because of the sour-sweet taste and spice of ginger, the drink will eliminate the desire to snack on something sweet. Before beginning a meal, you should drink a glass of the drink, which will help to satiate a smaller portion, and the eaten food will be absorbed in the body without the risk of forming fat deposits.

Such drinks should be included in the daily diet, and it is not necessary to choose any one. They can be combined. There will be no harm, as only one teaspoon of honey is required everywhere. Together with proper nutrition and exercise, they work with a double effect. Having not one particular effect, but a totality of many, these drinks will be able to work on the whole body, strengthening and healthier it.

As mentioned earlier, nectar can be a secondary product that enhances the effect of the main product. For example, grapefruit juice. Grapefruit is a self-sufficient fruit for weight loss, the juice and pulp of which are included in a variety of diets. But if you crush the peeled fruit in a blender or squeeze the juice and add a teaspoon of honey, then the effect of the fruit will be tripled. It is better to enjoy it 20 minutes before going to sleep.

And do not forget, if you do not give up baking, sweets, fried and salty foods, then honey will not help simply because it alone can not cope with so many harmful products.

Therapeutic properties of buckwheat honey

The tart taste and slight tingling of the tongue when it is consumed indicate that buckwheat honey is a natural antibacterial agent, the benefits of which everyone knows. The main problems solved by the beneficial properties of the bee product:

1. Enriched with zinc, affects the retina, thereby restoring and improving vision.
2. Due to the natural antibiotics contained in the composition strengthens the immune system, helps with acute respiratory infections.
3. Because of high iron content is shown to people with cardiovascular insufficiency and suffering from pressure problems. Moreover, it adjusts the blood pressure, that is, high reduces, and low increases. Also nectar helps the body to adapt after strokes.
4. Indispensable for healing wounds and skin diseases. This is due to the presence of antibacterial and antiseptic agents.
5. Improves mood and relieves stress. Vitamins from groups B, E and glucose calm the nervous system without causing drowsiness.
6. Vitamin B 12 helps with gastrointestinal disorders.

Interesting fact: Buckwheat honey contains 22 of the 24 micronutrients that humans need for proper bone growth.

Traditional Medicine Recipes with Buckwheat Honey

Eyes

1. If you feel eye fatigue because of long work at the computer in the evening put a thin layer of honey on the upper eyelid. This will not only help relieve fatigue and puffiness from the eyelids, but also get rid of redness.
2. For dry eye syndrome - soak a cotton pad in water with honey and cover the eyelids for 20 minutes.
3. Honey counteracts the spread of eye infections - freeze water with a teaspoon of sweetness beforehand and rub ice over the eyes in the evening.

Flu and other respiratory diseases

Hot milk with honey is familiar to everyone since childhood. Despite conflicting opinions, it helps in 9 out of 10 cases. Recipes:

1. Bitter aloe mixed with sweet honey in a ratio of 1:4. Use 3 times a day.
2. Grind lemon in a blender, mix with honey. Allow to infuse for a few hours and drink 3 times a day.

Blood Pressure and Heart Disease

1. Crushed cranberries or juice, add honey, take 2 times a day.
2. Grate beets, squeeze and put honey in the juice (1 tsp.). Drink twice a day.
3. Chopped walnuts mixed with the product of beekeeping. The course of such treatment - at least a month, every day you need to eat 3 tablespoons of the mixture. The pressure will normalize, headaches will cease to plague.

Wounds and burns

In these cases, a bandage will be effective. Apply a small amount of honey to the affected place and put gauze on it.

Depression and nervous state

The day should begin with warm honey water. It will cleanse the body of toxins, calm the nervous system.

If you drink such a drink 30-40 minutes before sleep, adjusting to the biological clock of the person, it will get rid of insomnia.

Diseases of the stomach and intestines

1. Grind prunes, raisins and mix with honey. Such a dessert will start the intestines and get rid of constipation.
2. Honey in its pure form will get rid of stomach pain, eliminate nausea and heartburn.

Buckwheat Honey in Cosmetology

According to legend, Cleopatra stained her hand with honey. But she paid attention to it only in the evening, and what was her surprise when, after washing the sweet mask, the queen found that the skin on this hand was much softer than on the other. After this experiment, the Egyptian queen introduced a honey bath into her regular cosmetic procedures (to which she placed great importance). As we know, her skin and hair have always been notable for its beautiful condition, so this sweet product is used in the modern world as well.

Women have always strived for perfect smooth skin without pimples, wrinkles and other flaws. When there were no chemical cosmetic procedures, they used improvised means. Thanks to them, through trial and error, great masks have survived to this day to help maintain or achieve excellent skin and hair.

The use of honey is also found in professional beauty salons. It is mainly included in:

• facial masks and scrubs;
• Shampoos and hair masks.

For these procedures is best suited buckwheat honey. It is desirable to use for this purpose candied product. It is in this state that it simultaneously exfoliates, polishes, nourishes and moisturizes the skin. You can leave it on your skin for a few minutes - it will also nourish it with trace elements, reduce inflammation and redness.

1. Honey wrap. This procedure is very popular in massage salons, as well as at home. It can remove excess fat from the waist, moisturize and nourish the skin, tighten it, reduce the appearance of stretch marks and scars, and relieve joint pain. There are many types of wraps, but the most effective is the following. In 5 tablespoons of buckwheat honey (it is endowed with the property of burning fat) add 1/2 teaspoon of red hot pepper and a spoonful of coconut oil. Mix the mixture well and apply to the problem areas, then wrap the body in several layers of cling film from bottom to top (first the legs, then the stomach). Wear warm clothes and cover with a blanket. Leave the composition for 30-50 minutes, depending on the severity of burning. Take a warm shower, then apply any cream. The procedure is prohibited for people with sensitive skin, as well as in the presence of open wounds and ulcers.
2. Body scrub with salt will help to exfoliate dead cells, tighten the skin and get rid of cellulite. For this you need to mix honey, salt and olive oil (2:1:1). While taking a shower, rub the mass in a circular massage motion into wet skin, then leave it for a few minutes and rinse off. It is best to use the product after training, because after sporting activities the body works faster and the scrub action will be doubly effective.
3. Everyone faces peeling on the face in the spring season during the avitaminosis. From this problem will get rid of a scrub mask. Mix coffee, instant or ground - it does not matter, honey and any cosmetic oil in equal parts and apply to the skin, except for the eyes and lips. Leave on for 15 minutes, then massage and rinse off with gentle pressure.
4. On the areas affected by pimples, apply a mixture of honey, necessarily buckwheat, with cinnamon (3:1). The amount of products taken depends on the area of the lesion, but the proportions must be observed. Leave it for 20 minutes.

Also, honey scrubs work well when paired with a bath. When the skin is steamed and the pores are open, useful minerals saturate the skin faster and easier.

Honey for hair

1. You can make your hair healthy and beautiful by using a bee product. By mixing it with red pepper, you can stop hair loss and wake up the bulbs for growth. Apply the mask to the roots of the hair, leave it for 30-60 minutes depending on the strength of the burning and wash it off with shampoo.
2. Honey and olive oil will moisturize, add shine and reduce hair breakage.
3. By adding 2 tablespoons of honey water to shampoo, you can reduce the negative effects of the chemical elements in its composition.

Hair masks should be done once a week for prevention and twice for elimination of the problem.

Honey is very useful for curly hair. They become obedient, also the product of bee restores their structure, helps to achieve the correct curls. It prevents tangles, hair breakage and accelerates their growth.

Harms and contraindications

Along with all the wonderful healing properties that are present in buckwheat honey, we should not forget about its harmful qualities. This is a natural product and, strange as it may seem, it can do more harm than diluted or those that have chemical additives.

The harm of honey can be interpreted in different ways, especially in relation to weight loss. If you do not stick to the right diet and do not exercise - do not wait for benefits. Conventionally speaking, to eat a bun, spread with butter and honey, and complain that the scales show more and more, and then say that honey makes you look fat is also wrong.

Contraindications in which the use of honey is prohibited:

Allergies
The culprit is the immense accumulation of vitamins, which in some people cause acute reactions. For the most part, they have known about them since childhood. But in some cases, an allergy to a particular constituent element can also occur at a mature age. And sometimes nothing happens on ingestion, but when applied to the skin, a rash appears.

In order to find out if there is an allergy to honey, it is necessary to take a blood test at the clinic for this particular product. The laboratory will make the appropriate diagnosis, after which it can be included in your daily diet.

To check your skin for a reaction, you need to put a small amount of honey on the area of the hand on the inside, where the skin is thin and sensitive. And also there are veins close to it, which allows you to determine in a short time the presence of an allergy. If after 5-20 minutes nothing happens, you can do cosmetic procedures and consume the product internally. But in any case you should do it with caution, observing how the skin behaves. If itching, burning, irregular redness appeared around the area with the applied mask - it must be washed off at the same moment.

Couperose is a capillary disease manifested by a vascular network under the skin.
Cosmetic procedures using honey will aggravate the situation. Since honey stimulates the circulatory system, forcing it to work in an increased mode, the capillaries cannot cope. Therefore, before starting a course of massage, it is necessary to warn a specialist about the presence of couperose.

With asthma.
It is with buckwheat honey that attacks of choking, dizziness, fever and deterioration of the general condition can be caused. All this happens because of its tart smell and taste, which irritates the mucosa of the throat and respiratory tract, which can subsequently lead to a worsening of the disease.

Diabetes mellitus.
Because of its high sugar content, the product should be completely excluded from the menu. In rare cases, doctors leave it in the diet for patients with type 2 diabetes. But for insulin-dependent people, it is forbidden.

Important: The glycemic index of buckwheat honey is 50 units.

How to Choose and Store Buckwheat Honey

It is easy enough to make a choice by remembering the following tips:

1. Do not buy honey in supermarkets and stores. It is enough just to remember that the sugaring of honey is inevitable. If the product was collected in mid-summer, winter and spring, then no matter how it was stored, it would definitely have settled down by now. But the store-bought version is always liquid. The product that you see so often on the shelves, 9 times out of 10, is not real. It is produced in factories, where to increase the volume of sales they add a variety of chemicals, and dilute honey with molasses or sugar syrup, from which the product becomes useless. If a beekeeper or a dealer is found, it is easy to check its authenticity.
2. If you buy it, buy it only in clear glass jars. Very often, fraudsters dilute honey and sell to gullible citizens not at all what they wanted to buy. And they notice the fake only at home.
3. True buckwheat honey has a unique color. Its dark tones, from orange to almost black, are unmatched by any other bee product. It is also cloudy. Natural honey always contains traces of pollen, honeycombs, and often the actual bee stings. If the honey is too transparent, the supplier should be changed.
4. The taste of buckwheat nectar is tart, it should make your tongue tingle and a slight tickle in your throat. A full-bodied sweetness is not what this variety is about.
5. Unadulterated honey should not drip, but should stretch enough that when scooped up with a spoon, the dangling residue can easily be coiled; it will not drip or drip.

Storage Conditions:

1. Glass (clear), aluminum and ceramic utensils are ideal for this purpose. The only thing worth considering is that only glass is suitable for long-term storage.
2. Copper container is unacceptable because due to the long contact with it honey acquires toxic substances.
3. Plastic containers are suitable for short-term storage.
4. The container must be clean and dry, tightly closed - dust, moisture and other extraneous elements should not get into the honey.
5. When scooping honey, only clean instruments should be used. If foreign matter gets in, a chemical reaction occurs and the product spoils.
6. The room should be cool and dark, and it is important to avoid direct sunlight.
7. The temperature in the room should not exceed 26 degrees.

Do not forget about crystallization, which occurs faster at 14-16 degrees and with constant stirring.

Interesting facts about buckwheat honey

1. Honey is an excellent preservative that was used by the ancient Greeks to embalm the dead. And thanks to this property, not only does it not get moldy, but it is also capable of destroying fungus.
2. On the Peruvian-Ecuadorian border in 1985, a shipment of honey was detained at Peruvian customs. During inspection, a bloodhound drew the officers' attention to this luggage. Later it turned out that the main ingredient of the honey was cocaine, and it had not been added to the sweet mass, but bred naturally - the bees were specially released on coca plantations. Since bees pollinate any flowering plant, it was not difficult to do so.

Photo of buckwheat honey